FT interviews UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti about UBS’s integration of Credit Suisse, the Swiss government’s proposed tougher capital rules, his own tenure, Europe’s broader over-regulation, and market risks from the Middle East and private credit. Ermotti argues UBS has already proven the existing Swiss framework works, says the new reforms are disproportionate, and frames UBS as a profitable, systemically important bank that still supports Switzerland while the bank finishes integration and catches up on delayed technology changes.
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Sergio Ermotti’s core message is defensive but broadly optimistic: UBS has largely completed the difficult operational and cultural work of absorbing Credit Suisse, the bank remains profitable and resilient, and the current Swiss capital proposal is, in his view, an overreaction that is not proportionate to UBS’s actual risk profile. He repeatedly argues that the existing framework already allowed UBS to rescue and stabilize Credit Suisse and that the authorities should be careful not to impose rules that are harsher than peers or that undermine UBS’s role in Switzerland. On the integration, Ermotti says he was surprised by both the speed and quality of execution, especially the cultural side. He cites the migration of “110 petabytes of data” and says the client franchise continued functioning throughout the process. …
Near term, the tradeable setup is the Swiss capital-rule debate: any sign of dilution, compromise, or delay would reduce UBS headline risk, while a harder line from parliament keeps the relocation/overcapitalization overhang alive. Separate from UBS, the market should stay alert to a short-horizon inflation and risk-off impulse from Middle East developments.
Over the next few months, UBS likely remains operationally solid while the integration wraps up and tech spend normalizes, but the stock and the bank’s strategic flexibility will continue to be shaped by the regulatory outcome. The key mid-term question is whether Switzerland settles on a ruleset that looks proportionate enough to preserve UBS’s current structure and confidence.
The long-run issue is whether Europe and Switzerland can support globally important financial institutions without making them structurally less competitive than US peers. Ermotti’s view implies that if regulation remains heavy and slow to adapt, capital and decision-making may gradually migrate toward more favorable jurisdictions.
UBS has integrated Credit Suisse faster and better than expected, including a surprisingly strong cultural merger.
He cites the speed of data migration and improving employee-preference numbers as evidence.
Credit Suisse failed because its business model was unsustainable and the bank suffered recurring losses and reputational damage.
He explicitly blames the business model, losses, and reputational issues.
Swiss authorities and stakeholders failed to react decisively enough to Credit Suisse’s problems even though the market had already been signaling the stress.
He says regulatory concessions persisted too long and the market was telling the story years earlier.
What surprised you the most about the Credit Suisse integration?
Sergio was surprised by the speed and quality of the migration of 110 petabytes of data while still serving clients. But the biggest positive surprise was the cultural integration: Credit Suisse's employer-of-choice score rose from 55% in 2022 to 81% in 2025, exceeding the industry norm of 75%.
What was the most damaging issue with Credit Suisse?
The business model was not sustainable — a bank losing money regularly with reputational issues creates a dangerous cocktail. Sergio says management and shareholders bear the majority of responsibility for not acting decisively. Regulators made too many concessions to Credit Suisse. And stakeholders ignored what the market was already signaling for years.
You have a combined headcount of about 100,000 and you are supposed to bring it down to 85,000. Is that still your plan?
Sergio is not commenting on specific numbers but confirms they started at 157,000 combined and are now at 117,000. The most painful part is the redundancies and he hopes this is done by the beginning of next year.
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